Europe's shipyards continue to lose market share

According to the Bremen Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL), 99 per cent of global orders for new merchant ships, measured in CGT (compensated gross tonnes), went to shipyards in Asia in the first six months of the current year. At 47 per cent, the largest share of the approximately 600 newbuild orders with 21 million CGT went to South Korean shipbuilders, which were back in the lead for the first time since 2016, while 43 per cent went to the heavily expanded and highly subsidised shipyards in China. Despite a number of orders from domestic shipping companies, even Japan had to fight hard to secure at least a share of the total volume, albeit one that was also shrinking. The share of European shipyards continued to shrink and is currently only around one per cent - 22 merchant ships with a total of 0.2 million CGT have been ordered from them. The Asian shipyards benefited in particular from the ongoing boom in the container ship and gas tanker segments. Container ships accounted for the lion's share of newbuilding orders with 40 per cent CGT, while gas tanker tonnage accounted for 37 per cent. Interest in cruise ships declined due to the pandemic. Only three smaller units were ordered from European shipyards. Also noteworthy, but not surprising, were the sharp increases in raw material and energy prices, which were of course reflected in the overall newbuilding prices. According to Clarkson Research, for example, an LNG tanker of 174,000 cubic metres cost around USD 242 million in September, which corresponds to an increase of 20 percent within a year. Based on the price two years previously, the increase was 30 per cent.